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Lot Essay
Amboyna orrery clocks by Raingo of closely related design to the present example are in the British Royal Collection and in the Soane Museum, London. Examples of Raingo orreries to have appeared at auction in recent years include:
ORMOLU AND PATINATED BRONZE CASE ON MAHOGANY PEDESTAL (WITH MUSIC): Christie's London, 8 July 2010, lot 130 (£145,250).
MAHOGANY CASE, SQUARE PLINTH (WITHOUT MUSIC): Sotheby's New York, 20 October 2009, lot 10 ($266,500)
AMBOYNA CASE, SQUARE PLINTH (WITH MUSIC): Christie's London, 6 December 2006, lot 69 (£131,200)
MOTHER-OF-PEARL CASE (WITHOUT MUSIC): Sotheby's New York, Masterpieces from the Time Museum, Part IV, 13 October 2004, lot 96 ($153,600)
AMBOYNA CASE, SQUARE PLINTH (WITH MUSIC): Christie's London, 15 September 2004, lot 34 (£94,850)
AMBOYNA CASE, CIRCULAR PLINTH (WITHOUT MUSIC): Antiquorum Geneva, The Private Collection of Theodor Beyer, 16 November 2003, lot 24 (CHF 212,500)
ZACHARIE JOSEPH RAINGO & THE RAINGO ORRERIES:
Born in Mons, Raingo was living in Tournai in 1806 before moving to Gand in 1810 and shortly after to Paris, first in rue de Cléry and then in 1815 in rue Saint-Sébastien. He is recorded as having the title of Horloger-Mécanicien to the Duc de Chartres by 1823 and then in February 1824 that of Horloger-Mécanicien du Garde-Meuble de la Couronne. In 1804 Raingo presented his first 'horloge à sphère mouvante' to a M.de Champagny. In 1810 he applied for a brevet for his design. The drawing attached to this shows an ormolu orrery clock on pedestal, of rotunda form with four caryatid bust columns (see J-D. Augarde & J.N. Ronfort, Antide Janvier, Mécanicien-astronome Horloger ordinaire du Roi, Paris, 1998, pp.52-53). This clock is in La Musée d'Art & Histoire, Bruxelles, and is illustrated in Tardy, French Clocks, Vol. II, Paris, 1981, p. 339.Tardy also illustrates another version of this design (p. 339) as do Augarde & Ronfort (p. 53).
Later versions, such as the present clock, were made with plain columns and generally constructed in amboyna or mahogany, although one mother-of-pearl example is known and the Spanish Royal collection includes an ormolu columnar version with figures to the base. Augarde & Ronfort suggest that approximately thirty Raingo orrery clocks exist. In addition to those mentioned these include examples in the British Royal Collection (Windsor), the Sir John Soane Museum (London), the Kelvin Grove Museum (Glasgow), the Science Museum (London), Il Museo Poldi Pezzoli (Milan) and La musée des Arts & Métiers (Paris), Musée International de l'Hologerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.
ORMOLU AND PATINATED BRONZE CASE ON MAHOGANY PEDESTAL (WITH MUSIC): Christie's London, 8 July 2010, lot 130 (£145,250).
MAHOGANY CASE, SQUARE PLINTH (WITHOUT MUSIC): Sotheby's New York, 20 October 2009, lot 10 ($266,500)
AMBOYNA CASE, SQUARE PLINTH (WITH MUSIC): Christie's London, 6 December 2006, lot 69 (£131,200)
MOTHER-OF-PEARL CASE (WITHOUT MUSIC): Sotheby's New York, Masterpieces from the Time Museum, Part IV, 13 October 2004, lot 96 ($153,600)
AMBOYNA CASE, SQUARE PLINTH (WITH MUSIC): Christie's London, 15 September 2004, lot 34 (£94,850)
AMBOYNA CASE, CIRCULAR PLINTH (WITHOUT MUSIC): Antiquorum Geneva, The Private Collection of Theodor Beyer, 16 November 2003, lot 24 (CHF 212,500)
ZACHARIE JOSEPH RAINGO & THE RAINGO ORRERIES:
Born in Mons, Raingo was living in Tournai in 1806 before moving to Gand in 1810 and shortly after to Paris, first in rue de Cléry and then in 1815 in rue Saint-Sébastien. He is recorded as having the title of Horloger-Mécanicien to the Duc de Chartres by 1823 and then in February 1824 that of Horloger-Mécanicien du Garde-Meuble de la Couronne. In 1804 Raingo presented his first 'horloge à sphère mouvante' to a M.de Champagny. In 1810 he applied for a brevet for his design. The drawing attached to this shows an ormolu orrery clock on pedestal, of rotunda form with four caryatid bust columns (see J-D. Augarde & J.N. Ronfort, Antide Janvier, Mécanicien-astronome Horloger ordinaire du Roi, Paris, 1998, pp.52-53). This clock is in La Musée d'Art & Histoire, Bruxelles, and is illustrated in Tardy, French Clocks, Vol. II, Paris, 1981, p. 339.Tardy also illustrates another version of this design (p. 339) as do Augarde & Ronfort (p. 53).
Later versions, such as the present clock, were made with plain columns and generally constructed in amboyna or mahogany, although one mother-of-pearl example is known and the Spanish Royal collection includes an ormolu columnar version with figures to the base. Augarde & Ronfort suggest that approximately thirty Raingo orrery clocks exist. In addition to those mentioned these include examples in the British Royal Collection (Windsor), the Sir John Soane Museum (London), the Kelvin Grove Museum (Glasgow), the Science Museum (London), Il Museo Poldi Pezzoli (Milan) and La musée des Arts & Métiers (Paris), Musée International de l'Hologerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.